2013 is drawing to a close, so the Digital Spy team has picked the TV heroes and villains that made us laugh, cheer and jeer this year - from cops to convicts, from politicians to gangsters, from meth dealers to reality TV stars... here are our picks for the standout TV characters from the past 12 months.

Steven Toast, Toast of London - Simon Reynolds, Movies Editor

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Matt Berry will be familiar to comedy fans thanks to his role as Douglas Reynholm in The IT Crowd, but its cult gems like Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and Snuff Box that really got the most out of him. He found his best role yet this year in Toast of London, a sitcom focused around his London luvvie Steven Toast. A vain and egotistical actor with a moustache that'd make Burt Reynolds envious, Toast, like great British sitcom characters Partridge and Brent before him, is a man constantly misplacing his dignity as he rebounds from one humiliation to the next. His recording studio animosity with Soho hipster Clem Fandango, violent encounter with Andrew Lloyd Webber enforcer Michael Ball and misjudged 'method' James Bond audition are just some of the highlights.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been one of the joys of the new television season, and a large part of that is down to Andre Braugher's absolutely magnificent Captain. You might think that Andy Samberg's goofy Jake Peralta would be the star, and sure, Holt is technically the straight man. But he's so much the straight man that he becomes absolutely hilarious - his refusal to emote and his dogged determination not to be amused are actually the funniest thing about the show. Who couldn't laugh when Jake offered a bet, only for the Captain to respond with a flat voice: "I'm considering it. I'm interested. I agree to participate." Holt's actually an impressive rounded character - his struggle to be taken seriously as a gay man in the police driving his desire to make his precinct succeed - and hey, the Christmas episode even proved that he can pop and lock like the best of them.

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Peter Russo, House of Cards - Tom Eames, Entertainment Reporter

While Kevin Spacey gave a powerhouse performance as Frank Underwood in Netflix's US adaptation of House of Cards, it was Corey Stoll's portrayal of alcoholic congressman Peter Russo that lingered long in the memory after the first season concluded. At first, the character seemed to be simply unlikeable, as he neglected his two kids, took drugs and generally let his constituency down. However, over the course of the season, and as he slowly battled to stay sober, his journey from almost-disgraced politician to campaign for governor became one of the main reasons we kept streaming the drama. Russo - despite his demons - was one of the few characters on the show to know right from wrong (when sober), but it was this good side to his nature that eventually led to tragedy. It is rather criminal that Stoll has not been recognised at the major awards for the role - he was able to display several different sides to Russo's character, whether being a proper politician, a passionate lover, a drunk mess, or a doting father.

Nucky Thompson, Boardwalk Empire - David Moynihan, Editor

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When Steve Buscemi first read the script for Boardwalk Empire he told the series creator: "Wow. I'm almost sorry I've read this, because if I don't get [the role], I'm going to be so sad." Buscemi was right to spot the potential in Atlantic City's charming, smart and ruthless gangster. And his portrayal of this hugely wide-ranging character - who we've variously seen as a lovable rogue and fast-quipping family man but also a gangland shark and brutal killer - has been nothing short of perfection. Boardwalk Empire has undoubtedly been one of the best shows on TV in recent years, thanks to its edge-of-seat storylines, jaw-dropping surprises and impeccable eye for period detail. Steven Graham as Al Capone has been a revelation, but it's Buscemi at the helm who has made it so unmissable.

Spencer Matthews, Made in Chelsea - Morgan Jeffery, TV Editor

Alright, so this might be an ever-so-slightly tongue-in-cheek selection, but let's face it, there was no villain more unscrupulous on British TV in 2013 than Made in Chelsea's permanently smug Spencer Matthews. A notorious womaniser and cheat, Spenny was at his very worst - or best, depending on how you look at it - over the past 12 months. First, he cheated multiple times on girlfriend Louise Thompson (Louise: "All you do is disrespect me." Spencer: "It's f**king hard to respect you when you allow me to cheat on you.") and later did the dirty on new beau Lucy Watson, before then attempting to win her back, screwing over his best friend Jamie Laing - now in love with Lucy - in the process. Ghastly, reprehensible but so, so watchable - Made in Chelsea would be much worse off without Spencer.

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Piper Chapman, Orange Is the New Black - Greg Laing, Sub-Editor

Another of Netflix's homegrown successes, Orange Is the New Black, has a cast filled with original and sophisticated characters, but by the end of the first season you realise that Taylor Schilling's Piper Chapman has crept up from nowhere to become the most fascinating. Seemingly little more than a foil for the other inmates' eccentricities at the beginning, it slowly dawns that what seemed to be a nice, harmless girl, punished for a youthful mistake, is in fact a quiet hurricane of destruction. Semi-innocently damaging lives at every turn, Piper doesn't have charms as obvious as many other characters', but she takes the crown for most interesting via the slow and very plausible reveal that the apparent victim is in fact the most dangerous of all the prisoners.

Walter White, Breaking Bad - Emma Dibdin, Features Editor

Walter White is the best argument yet for the idea that TV has now eclipsed cinema as the preeminent medium for character writing. Just imagine trying to cram this man's gradual, terrible journey from milquetoast to monster into 120 minutes of celluloid. The final eight episodes of Vince Gilligan's masterful modern tragedy Breaking Bad drilled down on its hero's psyche, ensuring that Bryan Cranston's multiple Emmy-scooping portrayal will be honoured by critics and studied by budding actors for decades to come.

"I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it," Walt said in Gilligan's elegant finale, in a moment that felt even more cathartic than his taking out the neo-Nazis with a massive gun, or his perfectly earned death in the laboratory. After watching everything he'd built crumble, his relationships with Skyler and Walt Jr and Jesse rotted beyond repair, this line brought Walt full circle without letting him off the hook. Whether you believe Walt was always a monster or turned into one by circumstance, this was simply a fully realised, faultlessly detailed portrait of a human being in flux.

DS Ellie Miller, Broadchurch - Alex Fletcher, Deputy Editor

Olivia Colman had already proved herself to be a cult comedy legend in Peep Show, Rev, Look Around You, Twenty Twelve and Green Wing. She had also shown that she was a stunning actress in big screen roles such as Tyrannosaur and The Iron Lady. However, 2013 was the year that Colman jumped from great actress to national treasure, thanks to her captivating performance as DS Ellie Miller in the biggest British drama of the year, Broadchurch.

She stormed the BAFTAs this year and deserves to do so again in 2014 for her portrayal of the mum, wife and cop who is relentless in the hunt for a child killer and who is destroyed when she discovers the unthinkable truth. Not many actresses could have pulled off the twists and horrors of the show's finale so convincingly, but Colman is a special actress and this was probably the finest hour of her career so far.

Who were your standout TV characters of the year? Share your thoughts below!